Introduction

It's been very gratifying to observe the reception of the 1st edition of Baby on Board, not only from parents, but professional colleagues. Many parents have told me how much it helped, especially in the first challenging weeks after they took their baby home.

In this new edition I have added an extensive section on settling the baby and why it is so important to get that right. I've explained in some detail the latest ideas about how babies' brains function and how they are wired up by their experiences with their carers. We now know, more than ever, that the seeds for lifelong contentment are sown in the nursery.

Not everyone wants to read a baby book from cover to cover, so I've divided the book into three sections.

The first is, to me, essential reading for all new parents: it's information all parents need in the first weeks and contains the fundamentals of parenting based on science, not folklore and myth.

The second part is the fascinating stuff, such as how babies evolved and what they perceive and how they generate such powerful feelings of love.

The last section is the information that everyone expects in a baby book - medical and mothercraft issues, and basic baby care.

I hope this layout is easy to navigate and makes the experience enjoyable.

The book has been fully updated and revised, but I hope it remains as easy to read, as user friendly and even as humourous as the first apparently was.

Chapter 1: Day 1: A quick 'setup guide' to your new baby...